Over the course of the season, there have been multitude of NFL players who have yet to perform anywhere near to the standards for which they are capable.
Week 6 is as good a time as any to break out of a funk. Some of these players who have been stuck in the mud will finally break out in a major way.
Here are our predictions for this weekend’s breakout performers.
C.J. Anderson will shred the Cleveland Browns defense
The Denver Broncos sport the second-worst rushing offense in the NFL and are trudging along, piling up only 71.6 yards on average per game at a lousy rate of 3.3 yards per carry.
Entering the season, Anderson was to be the featured running back picking up where he left off last season in Denver. However, a breakout performance by Anderson has yet to be witnessed. He has been banged up and is splitting time with Ronnie Hillman, and neither running back has done diddly to help the Broncos’ offense.
In Week 6 the Broncos play the Cleveland Browns, whose defense is allowing opposing running backs to steamroll over them at a crazy pace of 5.0 yards per carry. Anderson should thrive against Cleveland’s terrible rush defense. We all watched in awe of what he was capable of doing last season when he finished the year toting the rock at a pace of 4.7 yards per carry.
Keep an eye out for Anderson to find his 2014 roots and shred the Browns defense for 115 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Matthew Stafford will record his best performance of the season
The winless Detroit Lions, led by Stafford, have been the most embarrassing NFL team by far to watch this season.
A home matchup against the Chicago Bears in Week 6 is when Stafford finally kicks it into high gear and posts his best performance of the season. Stafford’s recent history against the Chicago Bears over his past four meetings is great, as all four starts have resulted in wins for the Lions.
So far this season, the Bears have not been very impressive, and their defense has forced only four measly takeaways. Deep down, Stafford is still a good quarterback, and his benching for throwing three picks last week will serve as a major reminder that must perform cleanly in Sunday’s upcoming game.
Stafford has awesome weapons at his disposal in Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, so there’s no reason he can’t throw for a few touchdowns against the Bears, who have allowed 11 passing touchdowns this season.
Look for Stafford to light it up and pass for 310 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions when the Lions claim their first victory of the season.
Jordan Matthews will exceed 100 yards and score a touchdown
Matthews hasn’t exactly been dazzling as the top wide receiver for the Eagles this season.
He’s dropped four passes, has yet to cross the 100-yard threshold and has scored just one touchdown. Jordan will change this stat in Week 6 in a divisional matchup against the New York Giants, whose defense is allowing an average of 304.2 yards through the air to opposing teams. The Giants have also allowed eight passing touchdowns.
Last Sunday the Giants’ defense surrendered 107 yards and one touchdown to San Francisco 49ers receiver Aquan Boldin. Look for Matthews to post similar results.
Eddie Lacy will finally find his groove
Lacy hasn’t scored since Week 1, and in some games this season he has been nearly invisible for the Packers.
Sluggish out of the gate, Lacy will turn his game around in Week 6 against a San Diego Chargers defense that has yielded the second-most yardage to running backs this season. The Chargers rush defense is allowing a generous 5.1 yards per attempt, and it just gave up 111 yards and one rushing score to Le’Veon Bell last week.
Lacy appears to be back to full health, and this is about the time last year he turned his season around and took the Packers’ ground game by the reigns. He’ll top the 100-yard mark and post a score or two against San Diego’s weak rush defense.
Jarvis Landry will make it into the end zone
The 1-3 Miami Dolphins have had a bye week off to regroup and practice under interim head coach Dan Campbell. Therefore, it’s time for the struggling team that has scored an average of only 16.25 points per game to start posting more scores.
Landry is the ninth-highest targeted wideout in the NFL with an average of 11.8 balls coming his way per game. He’s piling up yardage, but it is ridiculous that the team’s No. 1 receiver has yet to score a touchdown in four games. In Week 6, Landry faces a giving Tennessee Titans defense that has yielded a league-high 14.2 yards per reception to wide receivers. With that said, he should find is way into the end zone and finally post his first touchdown.
Best Jarvis Landry stat ever, from @LordReebs: "2nd in the league in targets inside of the opponent’s 10 (8), but has yet to convert for TD"
— Matt Rittle (@FFRittle) October 15, 2015
Over four games, the Titans have allowed seven receiving scores, so if Landry can’t come up with a way score in this receiver-friendly atmosphere, then the Dolphins are in real trouble.
Andrew Luck will top 350 yards and score three touchdowns
In a grudge matchup against the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football, Luck will finally improve upon his shoddy level of play.
Thus far in the three games we have seen him play, Luck has performed terribly, with eight turnovers compared to five touchdowns. He has yet to pass for 300 yards or score more than two touchdowns in any of his games.
In Sunday evening’s game against the Patriots, Luck will be forced to air the ball out in order to keep up with a red-hot Tom Brady-led offense. New England’s defense is allowing a middling 7.3 yards per attempt to quarterbacks, and Luck has some of the NFL’s best receivers in T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Andre Johnson to hit up for yardage and scores.
In a game that will likely feature the Colts playing catchup all evening long, Luck will surpass 350 passing yards and score three touchdowns. There could be a pick along the way, and the Patriots will still win, but Luck will post season-high numbers when all is said and done.